Language of love: British TV contestant to marry Israeli reality star

A British-born reality TV star is to marry an Israeli woman who also made TV headlines despite the pair having little grasp of each other’s languages when they met. 

Josh Brennan, who made headlines in Israel after he appeared on the show Rising Star (HaKokhav Haba), moved to Israel in February, partially to escape rising antisemitism in the UK.

Since then, he has embarked on a journey to break through in the music industry, with his participation in Rising Star putting him on the map of the Israeli music scene.

Speaking to Jewish News, Brennan described how he found the “love of his life” in Shira Gitter, an Israeli woman whom he had been messaging on Tinder before he moved to Israel. They finally met up the day after he arrived, and despite some language and cultural barriers they quickly became an item.

“Our first date was at a sushi place in Ra’anana. I knew straight away how amazing she was. I don’t think she knew at that moment that I would be the one but I certainly felt it. Her English wasn’t that great and my Hebrew was non existent. But she spoke a little, and we mainly used Google Translate to communicate,” Brennan said.

Shiran, who is also known from TV from her time in Israeli Big Brother 10 years ago, came to support Brennan when he participated in the Rising Star talent show: “She was incredibly supportive and has been the most amazing girlfriend. And I know she will be the most amazing wife, so I am very excited.

“There were some cultural barriers, but it was really interesting to learn about her culture, me being an Ashkenazi Jew and her being Sephardic, with roots from Iraq and Tunisia. I’ve really embraced it.”

Their families have met twice already, and despite a slight language barrier, they get a long very well. Brennan has also taken Shira to England to show her London and Finchley where he grew up. “I was like a tourist for a week, showing her all the things to see in central London.”

The couple will have their wedding in Israel on 28 December, and plan on starting a family in Israel as well.

Brennan is in the final stages making Aliyah and took part in the Career Israel programme by ‘Israel Experience’, an education subsidiary of the Jewish Agency, brings participants to Israeli top internships in all types of industries.